Iran to push resolution banning attacks on nuclear sites at IAEA meeting

Iran's top nuclear officials, including Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) chief Mohammad Eslami, arrived in Vienna for the 69th IAEA General Conference that begins Monday and runs until Friday. Tehran has confirmed its intent to table the resolution but has not disclosed the final text.

Eslami told Iranian state media that the conference was an opportunity to highlight concerns about IAEA conduct, particularly its director Rafael Grossi. "We witnessed the agency's lack of professional conduct, as this body, without taking any position, did not condemn [attacks on Iran] and instead acted in a very neutral manner - it applied a double standard to perfection," he said. "Even if this resolution is not adopted, it shows that the Charter of the United Nations has, in the truest sense of the word, been damaged."

According to Al Jazeera, Iran plans to lobby member states during the conference, though officials admit the draft may not even make it to a vote. Iran's deputy nuclear chief Behrouz Kamalvandi said Washington is pressuring countries to oppose the move. "The US is putting pressure on member states to block the resolution and has even threatened the agency that they will cut off assistance to the organisation," he stated.

Kamalvandi pointed to precedents for such measures, including UN Security Council Resolution 487, adopted in 1981, which condemned Israel's strikes on Iraq's Osirak reactor as a violation of the UN Charter. He also cited IAEA General Conference resolutions from 1985 and 1990 that underscored the protection of safeguarded nuclear facilities.

Since the US withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal under Donald Trump in 2018, the IAEA's Board of Governors has passed four censure resolutions against Tehran. Iran insists its programme remains civilian, and earlier this year neither US intelligence nor the IAEA found evidence that Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapon, Al Jazeera reported.

Iran accused the IAEA of paving the way for the June escalation after the agency declared Tehran noncompliant with safeguards, triggering Israeli strikes beginning June 13. The 12-day campaign killed more than 1,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage across Iran.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi last week reached an agreement in Cairo with the IAEA to restart inspections suspended after the bombings. He said the deal, covering all facilities including those attacked, was approved by the Supreme National Security Council.

The council, which includes appointees of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, government heads and military commanders, confirmed its backing in a Sunday statement. "Should any hostile action be taken against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear facilities - including the reactivation of previously terminated Security Council resolutions - the implementation of these arrangements will be suspended," it declared.

According to Al Jazeera, the council said inspectors currently have no access beyond the Bushehr plant, and Iran's nuclear authorities are assessing whether bombed underground sites are safe for visits. Hardline parliamentarians have voiced opposition to renewed inspections, warning they could invite further attacks by the US and Israel. (ANI)